Fire kindler



' heretofore has been successful in producing fire' Patented Nov. 3,1936 UNITED TA -Es PATENT lorriesms KINDLEB .Franklin' V. Chaney, NewYork, N. Y asslgnor,

by mesne en to Pine Kindler Corporation, New York, N. ware Y., a.corporation of No Drawing. Application November 13, 1934,

Serial No. 152,831

10 Claims.

kindlers having a heat unit content which is sufiicientlr great sothat'small quantities thereof will provide economical means for quicklystarting hard coal fires. To increase the heat producing qualities ofkindler materials, such as wood, attempts have beer. made heretofore tosaturate the wood by the open tank process with various combustiblehorn-Li's, but such attempts have failed to increase materially theheatunit content of the wood because little, if any, saturationwaseffected.

; This results from the fact that the constituent cells of the woodarefllled substantially with sap which remains even after the wood hasbeen seasoned. Accordingly, since the cells of the wood are filled,they, are incapable of absorbing any substantial quantity of othermaterials, in consequence of which the heat unit content of the woodafter such efiiorts to saturate it, remained approximately at the heatunit content of the natural wood with its sap content.

' viously have been emptied or substantially emp- The present inventionprovides fire kindlers which possess such high heat producing qualitiesthat the burning of small quantities thereof will quickly startanthracite coal fires and other fires, including bituminous coal, coke,wood, etc. The kindlers of my invention are additionally readily ignitedby contact with flame and are clean and convenient to handle.

The nature of the invention will be understood clearly from thefollowing description.

Generically, my kindlers have a base material of fibro-cellularcharacter, the cells of which pretied of the material with which theynormally are filled during growth or development. This extracted basematerial is saturated or impreg- 'nated thoroughly with inflammablematerial or a mixture of inflammable materials of desirable burning andheat producing characteristics until the impregnating materialsubstantially fills the emptied cells. Preferably, the impregnated basematerial also is coated with inflammable material havinga melting pointabove ordinary tem-'- peratures in order to maintain and increase theheat unit content of the kindlers by preventing any substantialevaporation of the impregnating material and to render the kindlersodorless and make them clean to handle.

The base material for the kindlers may be any desired form offibre-cellular material of vegetable origin, from which the sap contenthas been removed entirely or for the major part from the constituentcells. Methods by which the sap content of such fibro-cellular materialsmay be extracted are well known and need not be described here sincethey form no part of my invention. Ordinarily, the extraction of the sapcontent of these materials, is efiected after the materials have beenreduced by suitable lmown means to relatively finely divided form, suchas small particles, or chips, or constituent fibers or groups of fibers.The extraction of the sap content from the cells of these materialsleaves them in a condition in which they will readily absorb volumes orquantities of inflammable materials of high B.t'. 11. content muchgreater than the Volume of the extracted base material, so that uponcombustion in small quantities, the

impregnated base material will produce heat. in

sumcient quantity and intensity to readily ignite anthracite coal firesfor all purposes, as well as bituminous coal, coke, wood and otherfires. I believe that I am the first to discover the great advantagewhich accrues from the use for hindler purposes, of vegetable fibrousmaterial fromwhich the sap content has been extracted.

The preferred base material is extracted wood, which has been finelydivided into small particles or chips or into separated or partlyseparated fibers of the wood. It will be understood however, that I donot limit myself to extracted wood, since other extracted fibre-cellularmaterials of vegetable origin are effective for this purpose. Among themmay be mentioned, sugar cane, bagasse and corn'stalks. V

The inflammable material or materials utilized for impregnating theextracted vegetable fibrocellular materials may be of any suitablecharacter. Hydrocarbon-containing materials, in-

' eluding crude petroleums, fuel oils, by-products in the production ofwaxes and oils of various kinds and many asphalt and coal tar productsmay be used. It be understood that these particular materials areenumerated merely as examples of suitable impregnating materials andthat I do not wish to be limited thereto. In the selection ofinflammable materials for impregnating the extracted base material, itis desirable to use some material of a quickly inflammable nature andsome material of-a slow burning nature. The choice of the particularmaterial or materials for impregnation will be governed by the quantityand intensity of heat it is desired to produce upon combustion of thekindler.

Various coating materials may be used for the impregnated base material,but I prefer that a 60 material or mixture of materials be used whichhas a melting point well above ordinary temperatures so that it may beapplied in a liquid condition and upon cooling, will become and remainhard and solid at ordinary temperatures so that the kindlers will not betacky or objectionable to handle. Rosin, lacquer and some qualities ofvarnish are suitable for this purpose. The coating material may beapplied after the impregnated base material has been formed into kindlerblocks or it may be mixed with the impregnating materials before theyare brought into contact with the base material. -The preferred coatingmaterial is limed rosin which consists of a mixture of rosin having amelting point of about 125 degrees to 150 degrees F. and 3% to 5% oflime, by weight. The point at which this material softens or becomestacky is normally between 1'75 degrees to 200 degrees F. I believe I amthe first to discover the effectiveness of limed rosin and rosins havingrelatively hfgh melting points as coating material's for fire kindlers.

A preferred method of producing fire kindlers of preferred compositionwhich embody my invention, is as follows: Pine wood chips from which thesap content has been extracted and varying in length from about one-halfinch to about one inch and preferably about one-eighth inch in breadthor thickness, are first thoroughly, dried until the water content doesnot exceed five to eight percent. These dried chips are introduced intoa suitable mixing tank provided with means, such as steam coils, forheating, and equipped with suitable agitating apparatus. If desired, thechips may be dried in the mixing tank. To the chips in the mixing tankthere is added uncracked fuel oil of high B. t. u. content, preferablyabout 18,000 to 19,000 B. t. u.s per pound, to about 10% of the weightof the dry chips. This mixture is agitated for a period of about onehour or until the dry chips have absorbed the fuel oil. Thereafter,asphalt of the grade known as N. J. 110", or its equivalent such as coaltar, is added to the impregnated chipsin the mixing tank, in a quantityapproximating 70% of the chips by weight. This mixture is agitated for aperiod of from one to two hours, or for such time as may be required forthe asphalt to be absorbed or taken up by the chips. This N. J. 110asphalt is relatively slow burning; it burns with little or no residue;has a heat value of about 20,000 B. t. u.s per pound and in addition toincreasing greatly the heat content of the chips, also provides a bindertherefor. Next, there is added melted limed rosin to about 20% of theweight of the chips, this rosin preferably having a lime content of 3%to 5% of the rosin by weight, to increase its melting or "tacky" pointto within the range between 1'75 degrees and 200 degrees F. This limedrosin has a heat value of about 15,0003. t. u.s per pound. Theimpregnated chips and limed rosin are agitated for a short period oftime, about one-quarter to one-half an hour, until the chips are coated.Thus the chips absorb at least by weight of hydrocarbon-containinginflammable material.

The mixing and agitation of the extracted chips with the asphalt, fueloil and limed rosin ispreferably carried .out at a temperature of about200 degrees F. With this method the chips will absorb practically all ofthe liquid'mixture and thereby will become impregnated thoroughly withthe inflammable material. Thereafter the impregnated and coated chips.are formed into kindler blocks of any desired dimensions by any suitablemeans, such as moulding, pressing or the like. Upon cooling, thekindlers will retain their shape and will have a hard exterior whichwill not be unpleasant to handle.

If desired, the dry extracted chips may be impregnated in the mixingtank as above described but without the rosin content of the mixture,then formed into kindlers and thereafter suitably coated with meltedlimed rosin, preferably maintained at a temperature of about 350 degreesF.

If desired, the dry chips may be impregnated in the manner aforesaid, orin any other convenient manner, with fuel oil, asphalt and ordinaryrosin and after the mixture is formed into kindler blocks and cooled toabout 100 degrees F., the blocks may be coated with limed or highmelting point rosin. In this case only a very thin rosin coating isnecessary and if applied by immersing the kindler blocks in a bath ofthe rosin,.the bath should be maintained preferably at a temperature ofabout 350 degrees F. to insure a suitably thin coating.

If a fire kindler having quicker ignitability and faster burningcharacteristics is desired, about 10% by weight of crude naphthalene maybe added to the extracted chips in the mixing tank. I have found,however, that naphthalene is not required for ordinary fire lightingpurposes.

A method of producing a kindler embodying my invention and having a basematerial of fibrated vegetable flbro-cellular material from which thesap content has been extracted, or of such material reduced to fibers orgroups of fibers, is as follows: Extracted pine wood chips which havebeen sufiicientiy finely divided are thereafter reduced by suitablemeans to their constituent fibers or groups of fibers. These separatedfibers or fiber groups are then formed into boards of suitable thicknessand are thereafter cut into blocks of desired length and breadth forfire kindler purposes. Desirable dimensions for this purpose areapproximately 6 long, 3" wide and thick. An impregnating mixture ofabout 60% fuel oil of high B. t. u. content and 30% of theaforementioned "N. J. asphalt, or its equivalent such as coal tar towhich there is added preferably 10% crude naphthalene, is placed in asuitable receptacle which may be heated and maintained at a temperatureof about 200 degrees F. The blocks of base material are introduced intothis mixture by suitable means and allowed to remain for a short time,about five to ten seconds, during which they will asborb to 200% oftheir own weight of the mixture. Thereafter, the blocks are removed andpermitted to cool to a temperature of about 100 degrees F..or less. Thecooled blocks are then passed as rapidly as possible mechanicallythrough a bath of melted limed rosin maintained at a temperature ofabout 350 degrees F. Immersion of the blocks in the limed rosin for fromone to three seconds will be sufficient to adequately coat the blocks.Thereafter the blocks are removed and the rosin coating immediatelyhardens which provides the kindlers with a clean, hard coating.

It will be perceived that fire kindlers embodying my invention willpossess enormous heat producing qualities, which are sufiicient to startanthracite coal fires and other fires more quick- 1y than can be donewith charcoal or kindling wood and at a cost which is less' than thatfor charcoal, on a heat unit content basis.

It will be evident that wide variations are possible in the compositionof fire kindlers embodying' my invention without transcending theinvention. Any desired fibro-cellular material of vegetable origin fromwhich the content of the cellular structure of the material has beenextracted to the extent desired, may be employed. The greaterthe degreeof extraction of the sap content, the greater will be the degree ofabsorption of, or impregnation with, inflammable material and thegreater will be the heat producing potentialities of the kindler. Thesize of the particles, chips, fibers or fiber groups may be varied asdesired within limits. Preferably, these should be such that when thekindler is formed,

a sufiicient number of interstices remain between the particles, chipsor fibres to impart a; porous character to the kindler so that whenignited, air will reach the interior portions and these will be burnedat the same time the exterior portions of the kindler are burned.Complete burning thus will be effected with the production of greatheat.

Tests conducted at the Anthracite Institute Laboratory of Primos, Pa.,which is the official testing station of practically all of the coalinterests of the United States, were made on fire kindlers embodying myinvention ascompared with charcoal, which product is regarded as beingmore efflcient than ordinary kindling wood;

and these tests conclusively demonstrated the superiority of myfirekindlers as compared with charcoal in the lighting of anthracitecoal fires. These tests were made under identical condi-. tions. Thecost to the consumer of kindling ma- 7 terialused in the tests was thesame in all'three instances. As measured by cost, an equal amount of myextracted wood chip kindler and my extracted wood fibre kindler andordinary charcoal was used, together with the same quantities of thesame anthracite coal for each fire built and all other conditions wereexactly the same with the single exception that the full charge of coalwas placed on top of my kindlers before the same were lighted whereas inthe case of the charcoal kindled fire, no coal was placed on top of thecharcoal until the same had been burningfor a' period of seven to eightminutes, after which time the coal was added. v

Complete ignition of the coal was obtained with both the chip kindlerand than half the time required for complete ignition of the .coal bythe charcoal kindled fire. Accordingly, it will be clear that kindlersembodying my inventionare more efiicient and economical to use andproduce a faster fire than either chaicoal or kindling wood and withless labor involved. To effect greatereconomy in the manufacture offire-kindlers embodying my invention, waste extracted wood chips may beutilized, large quantities of'which-are made available as a result ofsap extraction processes carried out to obtain turpentine and pitch.

- of a hydrocarbon-containing inflammable material. selected from thegroup consisting of crude petroleum, fuel oil, asphalt and coal tan thefibre kindler. in less.

tures.

2. A fire kindler consisting essentially of relatively finely divided,uncharred particles of vegetable fibro-cellular material free from sap,containing by absorption at least 100% by weight of .ahydrocarbon-containing inflammable material selected from the groupconsisting of crude petroleum, fuel oil, asphalt and coal tar, andcoated with an inflammable material which. is nontacky at ordinarytemperatures.

3. A fire kindler consisting essentially of relatively finely divided,uncharred particles of vegetable fibro-cellular material free from sap,containing by absorption at least 100% by weight of a mixture of fueloil, asphalt and naphthalene, the naphthalene being a minor proportionof the mixture.

4. A fire kindler consisting essentially of relatively finely divided,uncharred particles of vegetable fibro-cellular material free from sap,containing by absorption at least 100% by weight of fuel oil, asphaltand rosin, the rosin being a minor proportion of the mixture.

5. A fire kindler consisting essentially of relatively finely divided,uncharred particles of vegetable fibro-cellular material free from sap,containing by absorption at least 100% by weight of a mixture of fueloil, asphalt and naphthalene, the naphthalene being a. minor proportionof the mixture, and coated with an inflammable material which -isnon-tacky at ordinary temperatures.

6. A fire kindler consisting essentially of relatively finely divided,uncharred particles of veg- ,etable fibro-cellular material free fromsap, containing by absorption at least 100% by weight of fuel oil,asphalt and rosin, the rosin being a minor proportion of the mixture,and coated with an inflammable material which is non-tacky at ordinarytemperatures.

.7. A fire kindler consisting essentially of relatively finely divided,uncharred particles of wood,

all of the sap content of which has been removed prior to the use ofsuch material for fire kindlers, containing by absorption at least 100%byweight of a mixture of fuel oil, asphalt and naphthalene,

the naphthalene being a minor proportion of the containing by absorptionat least 100% by weight of a mixture of fuel oil, asphalt and rosin, the

rosin being a minor proportion of the mixture.

9. A fire kindler consisting essentially of relatively finely divided,uncharred particles of wood, all of the sap content-of which has beenremoved prior to the use of such material for fire kindlers, containingby absorption at least 100% by weight of a mixture of fuel oil, asphaltand naphthalene, the naphthalene being a minor proportion of themixture, and coated with an inflammable material which is non-tacky 'atordinary temperatures.

"10. A fire kindler consisting essentially of relatively finely divided,uncharred particles of wood, all of the sap content of which has beenremoved prior to the use of such material for fire kindlers, containingby absorption at least 100% by weight of a mixture of fuel oil, asphaltand rosin. the rosin being a minor proportion of the mixture, and coatedwith an inflammable material which 'is V. CHANEY.

